BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Horseshoe crabs are ancient organisms that survived hundreds of millions of years. Now, they’re being used for much-needed data collection.
- Horseshoe Crab Watch provides much-needed data to FWC
- Experts cite lack of knowledge on Fla. horseshoe crabs
- Citizen scientists, or volunteers, will help make observations
It's back to the classroom for about 40 folks who are hoping to become citizen scientists.
For students like Greg Hendricks, not only does he want to learn about the wildlife on the coast, but he also wants to be part of horseshoe crab conservation. He lives on Merritt Island and is currently in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.
“The health of the environment is so important to us. It's why we live here and the quality of life and our coastal waters are being stressed,” he said.
The Florida Horseshoe Crab Watch citizen science program was created because of the lack of knowledge about the horseshoe crab population in Florida.
The program started in Cedar Key by the University of Florida and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
There are two places designated in the county for the program — one is at Parrish Park in Titusville and the other one at Kelly Park on Merritt Island.
Florida Horseshoe Crab volunteers provide much needed data to the FWC. Instructor Holly Abeels, who is a part of Brevard County UF/IFAS Extension, says there's environmental factors affecting the ancient creatures’ population.
Volunteers are tasked with walking the beach then catching, tagging, and measuring horseshoe crabs. Volunteers walk a known section of beach at predetermined times and count the number of horseshoe crab mating groups observed.
“For our region, (they) have been declining and because they do come on shore to breed that's actually what we are surveilling for when we go out. There are less shorelines in places where they nest, and that's why we are seeing a decrease,” Abeels explained.
The living fossils are part of the food chain for marine species shorebirds, and their blood provide essential biomedical testing. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration requires this for many medicines we use every day.
“Anything that might be injected into people so if you have surgery, vaccine or some type of liquid, they actually test that before the horseshoe crab blood to make sure there is no bacteria,” Abeels said.
Only citizen scientists are allowed to tag, capture, and measure, but if you still want to help track the population, you can report sightings on the FWC's website.